A major search was launched New Year’s Eve in the Jasper area for a missing child who was thought to be in danger, while the father of the child was
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Search underway for missing child; father charged due to explosive material found
A major search was launched New Year’s Eve in the Jasper area for a missing child who was thought to be in danger, while the father of the child was taken into custody after explosives were found at their Highway 195 residence in Jasper.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) issued an alert from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for Johnathan Everett Boley. While the original bulletins said he was age 4, Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith said in a briefing the next morning law enforcement was initially told he was 4 but he is actually 5.
He was described as a “white male with blonde hair and blue eyes and is believed to be in danger,” the alert said. “He was last seen on December 31, 2025, at approximately 11:30 a.m. in the 7000 block of Highway 195 in Jasper.”
His height was give at 4 feet and his weight was listed at 50 pounds. A separate description said the hair was blonde or strawberry.
The child was last seen in a yellow Mickey Mouse shirt, black pants and Paw Patrol shoes, the alert said. Anyone with any informtation was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 205-384-7218 or call 911.
While the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page had no information as of Thursday morning, the Nick Smith, Sheriff of Walker County page shared a photo Wednesday of a dog which was supposed to be with the child, who was described as being from Thach. “Finding this dog could help us in finding the missing child,” he said.
The page also posted Wednesday that anyone “in the area of the missing child on Hwy 195 who has cameras or deer cameras in the woods pleas check them and contact the sheriff‘s office if you see anything.”
Smith gave an update Thursday morning as volunteers gathered to continue the search. Weather personality James Spann posted on Facebook that searchers were gathering at Cornerstone Church on Highway 195 in the Thach Community.
A video of the update posted by Secrets True Crime Podcast showed Smith saying law enforcement first received a call about the missing child at 12:28 p.m. and arrived at 1:02 p.m. with Regional Paramedical Services (RPS).
”They cleared the house to make sure he wasn’t inside the house,” Smith said.
By 1:15 p.m. drones with thermal capabilities and aviation were in the air. They were in the air until about 3 a.m. Thursday. He said that morning the aviation were refueling and coming back to the area.
”We haven’t gotten any heat sensors. We haven‘t got any indication that the child is in the woods other than the 6-year-old brother said the last time he saw his brother was on the woodline. They crossed under the fence. He went back to tell the father that his brother had crossed the fenceline,” Smith said.
He said that morning the child was still missing, along with the dog. He further described the dog as a black lab named Buck. The dog has a large white patch on its chest and has no collar.
A nearby neighbor said the dog had been seen daily on his deer camera, consistently coming onto the field. However, the dog has not been seen on the camera since Dec. 26, he said.
He said Walker County Emergency Management Agency Director Regina Myers was going to stay at the site to organize the search crews.
”Stay away from the house. The house is taped off,” he said. “We have a search warrant to execute there.” He said a search of the house is being made because of “the threat of explosive devices possibly out in the woods.“
Secrets True Crime Podcast reported multiple agencies were involved in the search.
WVTM quoted Smith as saying the boy lived with his father. ABC 33/40 quoted the Sheriff’s Office as saying Boley was supposed to be returned to his mother sometime Thursday and she was flying in from Florida on Thursday.
ABC 33/40 reported Wednesday night that the father was being questioned but was not in custody.
Also, WVTM reported divers were being brought in to search nearby ponds. The search and the execution of the search warrant was called off Wednesday night after finding what was described as ”unusual explosive devices” at the home.
WBRC reported Thursday morning that the father had been taken into custody. The station quoted Smith as saying he was charged as a result of the discovered explosive materials.
The name of the father was not released in the story or in any other story or posting to date.
”Neighbors have identified that there’s been a lot of explosions in the neighborhood,” the station quoted Smith saying, ”Prior to us being here, the morning before we got out here, there was a report at about four in the morning of a loud explosion.”
Smith was quoted by the station as saying the FBI is working with local law enforcement to make sure the area is safe to continue the search. No live explosives have been found on the property, but Smith said there is evidence that they have had some type of bomb type materials that have exploded on the property.
Secrets True Crime Podcast reported law enforcement says the charges are separate for the search for the child. It quoted Smith as saying the charges address unlawful manufacture of a destructive device, a Class B felony. It said the father is currently in jail.
The podcast’s Facebook page also said divers were searching a nearby pond and a helicopter was also assisting Thursday morning in the search.
www.al.com
